Abbey Protection profit up 13%

Specialist supplier of legal and professional fees insurance Abbey Protection Claimed its “non-cyclical” business model helped boost revenues by 11% and profits by 13% to 8.3m.

Highlights (2007 in brackets)

• 13% growth in pre-tax profits to £8.3m (£7.3m)
• Revenue up 11% to £30.3m (£27.3m)
• 13% increase in EBITDA1 to £8.7m (£7.7m)
• claims ratio of 63.9% (69.7%)
• Cash and financial investment balances of £33.6m
• Shareholders’ funds up 32% to £19.4m
• Final dividend of 2.0p, making total dividend for the year of 3.5p per share
• Basic earnings per share 6.09p (5.86p)
• First acquisition - Accountax in October 2008

Colin Davison, chief executive said: ?“Against a backdrop of challenging financial market conditions and volatility, Abbey Protection has had another solid year, emphasising the strength and non-cyclical nature of our business model. Growth across all areas of the Group, combined with the signing of a new long term contract with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) through to 2014, has seen us consolidate our position as the UK’s leading supplier of legal and professional fees insurance protection to SME businesses.”

Tony Shearer, chairman, said: “We believe that our business is well placed, with demand for our services increasing as small and medium sized businesses appreciate the benefits of insuring their risks in areas such as tax investigations and legal disputes. As they come under increasing pressure to cut overheads, they will also see the value of the consulting services and specialist advice we offer in law, taxation and human resources. We do not see our business so much as countercyclical as non-cyclical.”